A $4 billion foreign investment package to boost peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians will not be considered unless US Secretary of State John Kerry succeeds in bringing the negotiating parties back to the table, The Times of Israel has learned.

[This package] is not intended as a substitute for the political process, a Western diplomatic source told The Times of Israel on Wednesday. It will be launched either in parallel or after the political track is resumed, as judged by John Kerry.

Kerry is scheduled to return to Israel later this week in an effort to relaunch negotiations amid reports of Israeli willingness to release a limited number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Palestinians forgoing the precondition of an Israeli acknowledgment of the 67 lines as the basis for talks.

At the closing session of the World Economic Forum in Jordan on May 26, Kerry presented a groundbreaking $4 billion package of private investment in the Palestinian economy. Coordinated by the office of Tony Blair, Quartet envoy to the Middle East, the investment package seeks to boost the Palestinian GDP by 50 percent within three years and cut unemployment from its current rate of 21-22% to just 8% in a similar time frame.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.